Hello neighbors, On Tuesday, August 31st, please join the 11th Ward Progressives in meeting and learning about Judge David Spurgeon, candidate for the PA Commonwealth Court in this November’s election. Judge Spurgeon will be speaking with us on August 31st on our porch at 5901 Hampton St, starting at 8pm. Though it is an "off year", there are still important elections coming up this fall, and this is one of them! Judge Spurgeon has served in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas since 2016. Assigned to the Family Division, he handles all matters involving children and families. He has been recognized as a national expert on domestic violence and has been named a Judicial Fellow by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges for his judicial leadership. In addition to our historic mayoral race, there are so many important state and local candidates running for office, particularly for the judiciary. Other statewide candidates we are excited to elect in November include Judge Timika Lane https://judgelane.com, Judge Lori Dumas, https://www.judgedumas2021.com, and Judge Maria McLaughlin https://judgemclaughlin.com. As the events of the last year have driven home, electing judges who value democracy and real rights is incredibly urgent. Please feel free to share this invite and bring along any friends who might like the chance to meet, mingle, and learn (https://fb.me/e/S5zeN8It). And reach out if you would like to get involved. We are group of neighbors working to educate ourselves and others about local, state, and national political and civic issues and to elect progressive candidates ( https://www.facebook.com/11thWardProgressivesPgh). Hope to see you next week on August 31. Erin Marie Erin Marie Williams-Hatala, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biology